Monoclonal antibodies against amyloid fibril protein AA. Production, specificity, and use for immunohistochemical localization and classification of AA-type amyloidosis.

Monoclonal antibodies against amyloid fibril protein AA were produced by cell fusion of murine P3 X 63-Ag8.653 myeloma cells with spleen cells of immunized Balb/c mice. To increase immunogenicity, protein AA was coupled to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) or human high molecular weight kininogen (HMWK). Using micro-ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent essay) seven hybridoma cell lines secreting antibodies that specifically bind to protein AA have been selected and cloned. When applied to formalin-fixed paraffin sections of a variety of different amyloid types using immunoperoxidase methods, five monoclonal antibodies bound specifically and strongly to amyloid only of the AA type. Since a series of different AA-amyloids could be stained, these reagents may be used to routinely diagnose AA-amyloidosis in tissue sections. A monoclonal antibody against HRP has also been produced that has been utilized to develop a monoclonal peroxidase-antiperoxidases (PAP) complex. When three immunoperoxidase methods were compared, the sensitivity of a conventional rat PAP was comparable to the monoclonal PAP complex, but the latter was easier to handle. Both methods were more sensitive than the indirect immunoperoxidase technique.